About Us
What is Project Mentor?
Project Mentor is a plan designed to help boost the Columbus Public School system's high school graduation rate from 72.9% in 2006 to 90% or higher by 2012. The goal is to transform Columbus Public Schools (CPS) and ultimately Central Ohio's community — one child at a time.
Developed as a component of the CPS 2012 Initiative, Project Mentor is a collaboration between CPS and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio with primary sponsorship from the Nationwide Foundation. To do it, Project Mentor will need thousands of Central Ohio volunteers to commit one hour a week to one student in need of an adult role model. In addition to individuals, Project Mentor is calling on businesses to endorse the program by encouraging their employees to participate.
As recently as 2001 the CPS graduation rate was only 55%. By 2005-06 the graduation rate increased to 72.9%. To reach the Project Mentor goal of a 90% graduation rate by 2012 we must continue to improve the graduation rate for every graduating class prior to 2012 at a rate of at least 3.5% annually, or about 90 students per year and then maintain or exceed that goal year after year.
Community Impact
Today many Columbus Public School students face more barriers to achieving their dreams than ever. With outside economic forces working against them, these young adults need additional help and encouragement to ensure they complete their high school education.
The high school diploma is the culmination of each student's work and their passport to achieving their dreams. CPS has refocused students and district staff on a new mission: graduation as an expectation. Reaching the Project Mentor goal of lowering CPS dropout rates will cut societal costs associated with dropouts such as increased incarceration, social services and health services.
We believe that by mentoring enough children, the entire school environment will change for the better. When too many youth are making negative choices at school, it becomes harder for their fellow students to make positive choices. But when making positive choices is the norm, it becomes easier for everyone to do the right thing.
Children who have a mentor are much more likely to develop the assets they need to succeed and this will impact other children at the school. In turn, our entire community will be affected by ensuring a lower high school dropout rate and a more positive educational experience for our children.
The Plan
We call it a "project" but Project Mentor is really a plan. A big plan. It calls for more than 10,000 mentors and a mentoring program in every one of the 130 Columbus Public Schools. The rollout will start in the fall of 2007 with 1,000 volunteers focused on the class of 2012. Then another 1,000-plus volunteers will be added per year for seven years.
While recruiting and maintaining 10,000 volunteers is quite a challenge, it is exciting to think about a plan that will have that much of the community participating. It will truly become an effort owned by the community, whose members will be taking responsibility for its success. This plan creates an opportunity to mobilize in a way never yet accomplished.
